To Life!

FOOD

Amid The Sorrow

Recipes for Lag b"Omer bring joy to a period of sadness.

L

ag b'Omer falls on Sunday, May 6,
this year. Though not celebrated
widely in the U.S., this festival
merits a school day off in Israel and mer-
riment during the otherwise plaintive
period between Passover and Shavuot.
Lag b'Omer literally means 33 days
after the offering — the omer, measure of
grain, made on the second day of Passover.
Lag b'Omer offers a welcome interrup-
tion in the form of festivity. Not only are
weddings permitted, in Israel the holiday
is celebrated with picnics and parties.
Among the more popular foods to serve is
anything with carob. The following recipes
use carob, barley, potatoes and kebabs.
Barley reminds of the omer, or Passover
offering. Potatoes and kebabs roasted
over a fire allow us to observe Lag b'Omer
Israeli style — around a bonfire. These
foods, cooked on your backyard grill, offer
flavor that's worthy of this celebration.

Barley, Corn, Peas
And Feta Salad

Salad:
4 heads Belgian endive, washed,
leaves separated (or 6 cups salad
spinach)
2 cups cooked and drained pearl
barley
1 pound blanched green beans, cut
into 1-inch pieces
1 cup fresh blanched corn kernels,
or frozen kernels, thawed
1 cup fresh blanched peas, or
frozen peas, thawed
1 cup chopped scallions, white
and green parts
1 cup crumbled Feta or goat cheese
Vinaigrette:
1 /2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
V4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. minced fresh mint or thyme
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste
Make salad: Arrange endive leaves
around a large platter or on 8 individual
salad plates, in a sunburst pattern. (If
using spinach, arrange the spinach on the
plates). Place remaining salad ingredients,
except goat cheese or Feta, in a large bowl
and toss to combine. Set aside.
Make vinaigrette: Combine all vinai-
grette ingredients in a bowl and whisk
until smooth or pour the ingredients into
a jar and shake well to combine.
Toss the barley mixture with the vinai-

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May 3 2007

grette and spoon the salad atop the endive
or spinach leaves. Garnish with a gener-
ous sprinkling of the goat or Feta cheese.
Makes 8 servings.

Spiced Roasted Drumsticks
12-16 chicken drumsticks
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. granulated garlic (not garlic
powder)
1 /2 tsp. ground cumin
1 /4 tsp. ground allspice
1 /2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 /2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1 /4 cup fresh lime juice
Preheat oven to 400E Place drumsticks
in a roasting pan in a single layer and
brush with the olive oil. Set aside.
Combine the garlic, cumin, allspice,
oregano, salt, pepper and paprika and
sprinkle over the drumsticks. Roast,
uncovered, for 20 minutes, turn in the col-
lected seasoned oil and roast another 15
minutes. Reduce heat to 350F. and cook for
20 minutes more or until done. Remove
to a platter and drizzle the pan juices and
lime juice over the drumsticks. Serve hot.
Makes 4-6 servings.

Foil Baked Potatoes With
Onions And Dill
2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
2 cups sliced onions
1 /4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 cup fresh minced dill
juice of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400F or pre-heat grill
to medium-high. Stack 2 large pieces of
foil (about 20 inches long) on top of one
another, shiny side up. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl
and toss well. Transfer the mixture to the
center of the foil and pull the sides of the
foil up to form a "bag." Gather the edges
of the foil and seal tightly. Bake or grill the
"bag" for 40 minutes to 1 hour until the
potatoes are tender.
Place the packet in a large bowl, open it
carefully (the contents will be very hot),
toss the potatoes to combine seasonings,
and serve the potatoes out of the foil
packet or remove the potatoes to a platter
and serve with the juices drizzled over.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6-8
servings.

Grilled Mustard-Basted
Vegetable Kebabs

Mustard Basting Sauce:
2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. white-wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 /4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
Kebabs:
8-10 cups vegetables chunks (about
1-inch) or baby vegetables, such as
patty pan squash, zucchini, onions,
al dente cooked carrots or new
potatoes, bell peppers, broccoli,
mushrooms, etc.
8-12 long bamboo skewers (10 inches
or more), soaked an hour or more in
water
Prepare basting sauce:
Whisk together the basting sauce ingre-
dients and set aside.
Heat grill to medium-high. Thread as
many vegetables per skewer as you wish,
alternating them or keeping like vegeta-
bles together on individual skewers. Brush
one side of kebabs with basting sauce
and grill basted side down until lightly
charred, about 5 minutes. Brush unbasted
side of the kebabs with more basting
sauce and turn to grill other side. Grill
kebabs until other side is lightly charred.
Serve the kebabs hot or at room tem-
perature with remaining basting sauce
on the side. Alternately, you may cut the

vegetables in half or leave smaller veg-
etables whole and grill them, basting with
the sauce. Cut the vegetables into smaller
pieces and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Chewy Orange Carob Cookies
You can substitute carob chips for choco-
late chips in almost any recipe.
2% cups flour
1/3 cup oatmeal
Ph tsp. baking powder
3 /4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
grated peel or zest of one orange
6 Tbsp. orange juice
1 cup carob chips
3 /4 cup golden raisins or
dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350E Spray a baking
sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line
with parchment paper. Set aside.
Combine flour, oatmeal and baking
powder in a small bowl and whisk well.
Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl. Use
an electric mixer to beat until creamy. Add
the egg whites, vanilla, grated peel and
juice and mix well. Add dry ingredients
and mix just until incorporated. Stir in the
carob chips and raisins.
Drop tablespoons of dough onto the
baking sheet (or use a small ice cream
scoop) at least 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15
minutes, until lightly browned. Cool com-
pletely before removing from the baking
sheet. Makes 3 dozen cookies. I 1

